How do you know?

Uncommon Sense

Presuppositional Apologetics: It’s an area of thought I’ve been studying and am thinking of calling it uncommon sense from now on. The more I study it, the more I realize that it is just that—uncommon sense!

The basic question it asks is: What would have to be true in order for us to have intelligence? The fancy way of saying it is, “What are the preconditions of intelligibility?” Think about it: In order for us to understand things from the world around us, what would have to be true? We take for granted the fact that we know things and never ask this basic question—”How do we know what we know?” The first thought that comes into my mind when I hear that question is, well we have five senses, don’t we! We learn through our senses. The problem is: “How do you know that your senses are valid”? Perhaps your senses are not reliable. How would you know that your senses are not malfunctioning and giving you false information?

Knowledge Comes From God

Many people claim that all knowledge is gained through the senses. However, logic, or “uncommon sense,” if you will, would force us to ask: How do we know that? Did we ever see, smell, taste, hear or touch all knowledge? To say that all knowledge is gained through the senses and then say you know this because of your senses is a circular argument. It can’t hold water. Think about it: If our universe evolved over 14 billion years and is made up strictly of matter, how would matter develop intelligence? Where would intelligence come from? How smart is a rock? According to evolution, rocks are our origins! How do you get intelligence out of that? You see God is the necessary starting point because everything else is foolishness.That is a form of what is known as the “Transcendental Argument,” but we will discuss that another time.

The only way to have true knowledge is if it is revealed to us. And that is exactly what God did. He gave us His word—the Bible—to reveal truth to us. (Proverbs 1:7 and Colossians 2:3). You see, without the God of the Bible, we could not know anything! Powerful thought.

Share This Article, Choose Your Platform!

Eric Hovind grew up immersed in the world of apologetics and following college graduation in 1999, he began full-time ministry. President and Founder of Pensacola-based organization, Creation Today, Eric’s passion to reach people with the life-changing message of the Gospel has driven him to speak in five foreign countries and all fifty states. He lives in Pensacola, Florida with his wife Tanya and three children and remains excited about the tremendous opportunity to lead an apologetics ministry in the war against evolution and humanism.